Review: Sutton Foster and Kelli O’Hara Stun with the Utah Symphony at Deer Valley
The concert was inspired by the 1962 CBS special “Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall”
Tony Award winners Sutton Foster (THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE, LITTLE WOMEN, SHREK THE MUSICAL, ANYTHING GOES, THE MUSIC MAN) and Kelli O’Hara (THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA, SOUTH PACIFIC, NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT, THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, THE KING and I) stunned with the Utah Symphony at the Deer Valley Music Festival in Park City on Saturday, July 26.
First presented at Carnegie Hall in 2023, the show was inspired by the 1962 CBS special “Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall” from Julie Andrews and Carol Burnett. They are performing it this year at prestigious venues across the country like Ravinia, Tanglewood, and Wolf Trap.
The concert featured solo numbers, unique duet medleys like one that humorously sampled both “I’m Gonna Wash that Man Right Outta My Hair” from SOUTH PACIFIC and “Forget About the Boy” from THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE and another chockful of pop songs from the 1990s, and fun skits like one inspired by the fact that both Foster and O’Hara started their careers working at Macaroni Grill in different Southern states.
The two luminous Broadway stars had a great rapport, bringing out different sides of each other, and their different but complementary voices blended beautifully.
The top highlights of the night were O’Hara’s achingly effortless “If I Loved You” from CAROUSEL, Foster’s joyous title song from ANYTHING GOES (danced to Kathleen Marshall’s revival choreography along with students from Brigham Young University and the University of Utah), and the exquisite duet “Here’s to Life” by Artie Butler and Phyllis Molinary.
Both performers returned to Utah after each having guested with The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square for their annual PBS/BYUtv Christmas special—Foster in 2017 and O’Hara in 2019.
For tickets to the remaining shows at Deer Valley Music Festival, running through August 9, 2025, call the Utah Symphony box office at 801-533-NOTE (6683) or visit deervalleymusicfestival.org.
Photo Credit: L-R Kelli O’Hara and Sutton Foster
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